Dark Chaton
by Nebilas
Summary: One month ago, Ladybug rejected Chat Noir, too in love with Adrien to accept. Now, on Halloween, the class heads to a haunted house, sans Adrien. But once they get there, things take a dark turn. Chat Noir has been akumatized, and seems intent on picking off his classmates one by one. Warning: Gruesome deaths inside. Also no he's not Chat Blanc #deal with it
1. Chapter 1

Mari took a deep breath, trying to ignore the flow of blood running down her cheek. Everything was wrong. Nothing, _nothing_ about this was okay. The last ten minutes had been some of the worst of her life, but she didn't have time to reflect on it, because quite frankly, she was terrified. Her life was in danger, and it was all her fault.

Chat had confessed to Ladybug. It wasn't entirely shocking, and Chat didn't seem entirely surprised when the words "I'm sorry." left her lips. She'd felt bad about it, but he'd promised he wouldn't let it interfere with their partnership. And he hadn't. A week had turned into a month and nothing had changed. Well.. Not nothing. The flirting had stopped. As had the nicknames. And the puns. And as every day passed with Chat simply speaking to her as a partner, the more guilty and heartbroken she felt. She could see the life in his eyes die out day by day. And it _burned._ She knew that those green eyes were dimming because of her.

Then today, on Halloween, Adrien had come dressed as Ladybug, and she as Chat Noir, as had been their running joke for the past two years. She'd turned around in class to ask a question and saw that same dying look in Adrien's eyes. And she'd known. Suddenly everything came crashing down around her head. She'd rejected the man she'd loved for himself. And when he'd glanced up, he'd noticed her staring at his ring. Then he noticed her earrings. He'd fled. When Alya had asked Nino what was wrong, he sheepishly replied that he might have let slip about Mari's crush. Marinette wanted to cry. All her fault. All of it. She'd ruined her entire relationship with Adrien and she knew it.

But Alya had told her not to worry. "Let's go to that haunted house! The rest of the class is going!" And Marinette, much as she didn't want to, found herself agreeing. And at first it hadn't been much. A simple house with various floors, that were designed to be scarier the higher up you went. Seven floors. Simple. And indeed, the first three were. But then came the fourth floor.

Juleka, Rose, Kim, Nathaniel, Chloe, Sabrina, Ivan, Nino, Alya, and herself. They all entered prepared for the worst the actors could throw at them. Silence. They heard the door shut behind them. A scream echoed from up ahead.

"Weak." Kim chuckled, striding forward confidently. That was when a clown busted through a door and ran, screaming, for the door behind them. The group jumped out of the way as the clown beat desperately on the door, asking desperately for their help. The group only stared. A laugh echoed from down the hallway. Something flew out of the darkness and landed at their feet.

"Kenny." The clown whispered, tears running down his face. It was a severed head, still oozing some blood.

"That's a really convincing performance." MaxMax said nervously. The clown burst into hysterical tears, clawing at the door, trying to escape whatever had supposedly killed Kenny. Alya sighed and started walking forwards.

"Guys come on it can't be-"

"Stop." The voice that came from the speaker wasn't sinister, but that almost made it worse for Mari. She knew that voice. "Let's play a game." Adrien said smoothly. "I just made it up. It's called, "Don't end up like Kenny. It's simple. If I catch you, you lose. You die."

"Ha ha ha." Ivan said, mock applauding. "Come on then. Prove it." A hesitation from the speakers.

"Very well."

"Chat no!" Mari shouted desperately.

"Chat?" Alya asked bewildered. Silence reigned supreme as the group waited with the sobbing clown, who was still trying to get out. That was when they heard footsteps. The clown screamed and redoubled his efforts to escape.

"Oh god he's coming!" He shouted desperately. After a few more steps, they stopped. Then the light went out. The group was plunged into complete darkness. The light flickered to life for a moment and Mari saw a flash of black besides her, before they went back out.

"You'll do nicely." A brief scream was cut off quickly, and the lights remained out. Ten seconds later, they came back on, and Rose was missing.

"Who's next?" Chat asked


	2. Chapter 2

It took the rest of Marinette's classmates about two minutes longer than Marinette to start taking the situation seriously. This happened when they forced themselves to start moving forward, and they discovered Rose hanging from the ceiling. Max and Juleka threw up, and Marinette was almost certain she would follow them. Chloe was now in hysterical denial while Alya was in full on reporter mode, trying to figure out who was doing this, and more importantly why.

"Marinette when you said Chat.."

"Alya drop it." Marinette's natural Ladybug authority was starting to course through her, and thus had no trouble shutting Alya down, at least temporarily.

"Ok fine but why? Why would he do this?"

"At this point… I'm just hoping and praying that it's an akuma." Nino murmured.

"Ah an interesting thing to wish for Mr. Lahiffe." Chat's voice said from behind them, causing the group to whip around, to be greeted to the sight of nothing.. "Do you truly wish for someone to have had one of the worst days of their life?"

"That's not fair!" Alya complained. "Many akumas have been over smaller things!" Silence.

"That is true." Chat finally replied. The lights went out, making Sabrina scream.

"Phones out!" Marinette commanded. A menacing chuckle reverberated throughout the room as her classmates complied and turned on their flashlights. It didn't fill the room with as much light as Mari had hoped and she grimaced.

"I'm surprised I didn't see the truth earlier princess." he mused. Her flashlight began to flicker.

"What the hell are your powers?" She shouted angrily. Everyone's lights went out.

"Ah princess, I'd tell you, but we went through this too many times together. Telling you puts us on an even playing field. I don't like that."

"What are you talking about?" Alya growled defiantly.

"Are you going to tell them or should I my lady?" The class jolted when they heard that phrase.

"Spots on!" Marinette roared, her transformation illuminating the room.

"Marinette?" Alya choked out, the first to react.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. We don't have time for a freak out okay? Stay in formation."

"Oh my lady." Chat said from a suddenly exact spot in front of her. She snapped her head forward, and was greeted to a pink butterfly outline surrounding gold eyes. "This does make it a bit more interesting I have to confess. But how will it feel knowing that even despite you being suited up, you'll still fail in saving those you care about?"

"I won't fail." Mari snarled.

"Really?" Chat said, eyes and butterfly disappearing. A yelp sounded from behind her. "Because now Max is gone."

"Damn you Chat why?" Alya shouted.

"To make Ladybug feel powerless. Now please move on to the next room."

"No." Alya growled.

"Alya please don't argue with him." Marinette pleaded.

"No I want to know why. Why he's doing this." Silence for a few moments, then the lights turned back on. The class relaxed slightly, when Chat began speaking.

"Alya Cesaire let me pose a situation to you. Imagine that in your life, you had someone you loved. Scratch that you're dating Nino. Pretend you love Nino but you aren't dating. You work up the courage to confess to Nino. But he says no."

"So you got akumatized because she rejected you?" Alya scoffed. "Some worst day ever." The lights immediately got switched off again.

"But imagine that he didn't just reject you. Imagine he rejected you for someone who looks a lot like you, but in his opinion is better, and more perfect." Alya's face clouded with confusion.

"So.. You're jealous?"

"Also try to imagine that one month after rejection, one month after pitiful stares following you everywhere you go, imagine that you return home and are greeted to the sight of your father staring at you. This is an unusual occurrence in itself, but this time he has news. He says "Son, I think allowing you to go to public school was a terrible idea. After this semester I am pulling you out." And everything you worked for is now gone, for an unexplained reason, and then after that, after begging him _literally on your knees_ for him to change his mind, he strikes you across the face."

Marinette heard Nino gasp, and knew he understood exactly who they were dealing with. She heard Chloe murmur 'oh no.'

"Then imagine going to school and finding out that the girl you love was in fact in front of you the entire time and that she loved the part of you that you despise. That part of you that you're forced to put up for everyone else's sake." Chat paused for a moment. "Then imagine a purple butterfly flying up to you, and at first you run, but it catches you. And a voice tells you that you can take revenge. At first you refuse. You aren't after revenge. But then the voice says that just being akumatized will make them hurt. And in a moment of anger and curiosity, you agree. And don't tell me you wouldn't agree. All of you, sans Marinette, have agreed to the bargain at least once."

"So you want to hurt us that badly?" Mari asked softly.

"No not really." Chat replied, allowing the lights to flicker back to life. It was by no means bright, but they could at least see around them.

"Then what are you doing?" Nino exploded.

"Hawkmoth just.. Expanded my mind to my more cat like tendencies."

"What the hell does that mean?" Chloe asked, finally speaking.

"Do you know why house cats kill birds and mice?" Chat asked.

"Instinct?" Kim ventured nervously.

"Sort of. But not quite."

"Then what?" Juleka asked, still looking ill.

"Curiosity. New studies seem to think that cats are simply curious to see what happens to those they inflict pain on. Add human curiosity and how I'm aware that this class is very close to each other and well… Let's just say the order of your deaths was determined long before you entered this haunted house."

"So who's next?" Ivan finally asked.

"Juleka." The response was quick and there was no hesitation. Juleka whimpered and backed up away from the group. The normally fearless girl was being overcome with fear. Chat chuckled.

"Go on Juleka. Run. We both know it's not that far to the door." Juleka cast a desperate look over her shoulder. "Do it." Chat breathed through the speakers.

"Juleka." Mari said softly. "Don't do it. He'll be waiting."

"Waiting?" Chat asked. Mari whirled around. He stood five feet away, a vicious smile on his face. "Go on Juleka. Look here I am. The group between me and you. You can do it. You can make it." Juleka took one last look before turning and fleeing. Mari tensed, preparing to stop Chat from pursuing her but to her shock, he simply remained in his spot.

"What was that?" Kim jeered. "All meow and no fangs?" Chat smirked.

"Sure Kim. Sure." A scream came from the adjacent room and Juleka came sprinting back to the class.

"It's Max." She whispered, sinking to the floor.

"What happened?" Mari asked, glaring pure venom at Chat.

"Yes Juleka. What happened to Max?" Chat asked.

"He was everywhere." Juleka whispered. "Arms.. Legs.. Fingers. Just everywhere."

"Yes.. Though I think I'd be more concerned with what's happening to you." Juleka suddenly leapt up from her spot on the floor as it suddenly disintegrated beneath her, thanks to a well placed Cataclysm from Chat. Ladybug looked around, discovering that Chat was again gone. The group formed a defensive formation around Juleka.

"Anything?" Mari called.

"Nothing." Came the replies. Suddenly Juleka screamed. Chat was leering at her from the ceiling, and before anyone could so much as move, she was snatched and taken. The lights went out again, giving Chat the time he needed to move.

The last thing Juleka heard was her classmates shouting her name. Then she felt an unbearable pain in her throat, and the feeling of a liquid pouring down her chest. Then she knew no more.


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette was not typically a paranoid person. Even when facing akumas, she found herself calm. But there was something about being pursued through the gloom by a malicious Chat Noir that had wound her up tight. Perhaps it was because she knew that he knew all of her strategies. Maybe it was because she knew he had been on this downward spiral for a month now, and had failed to stop it.

Or maybe it was because of the way Juleka had screamed. It had been a horrible, gut wrenching sound, until it was suddenly cut off. The silence that followed was worse than the screaming, something Marinette found bitterly ironic. She had heard Chloe whisper 'Make it stop'.

Chat had granted her request.

The group progressed slowly, Ladybug taking point, her seven remaining classmates trailing behind her. For nearly ten minutes, there was nothing. Not a sound from around them, not a word spoken between them. The lights remained as normal as they could be for a haunted house. Juleka was nowhere to be found either, which also began to unnerve the group. The previous two had been left to be found. Chat wanted them to see. So where was she?

She was, as it turned out, hanging upside down on a meathook. As her classmates whimpered behind her, Ladybug walked up to her and brought her down, laying her gently on the floor.

She stood, and even without turning around, she knew he was standing there. "We are not livestock Chat." She growled, radiating fury. She turned around to stare at him, and found his just a few feet away from hers.

Chat cocked his head to the side, seeming to think over her statement. "Then why are you acting like you are?" He asked simply. She went for her yoyo, but the room was instantly plunged into darkness, and she was left without a target.

Before she could call out to her classmates, a hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. She bumped into the chest of whoever had pulled her, and Marinette did something she never did. She hesitated. Chat took advantage and she found her arms pinned behind her. She struggled, but couldn't break free. She gasped as a hand settled on her shoulder, before moving up towards her ear.

She began to panic. "Chat let go." She pleaded desperately, trying to break through to him.

"Sorry Marinette." He murmured. To her utmost surprise, he actually sounded sorry. "I have to take these. It was part of the deal." He seemed like he was going to say something else, but he paused, and after a moment, the lights switched back on. Her classmates shouted in desperation as they saw the situation she was in.

"Adrien!" Nino shouted. "Don't do it!" For a moment, it seemed as though he might have broken through. Chat stopped reaching for the earring, but the hope was short lived.

Chat turned to look at him, giving him a blank look. "Adrien is gone." He finally said, taking out Marinette's left earring, and reaching for the second. "Hawkmoth made sure of that."

Marinette redoubled her efforts to escape, but Chat held her firm, and pulled out the second, causing her transformation to fall away.

"Marinette!" Tikki shouted desperately as she was sucked out, and attempted to fly to her chosen, only to get snatched out of the air by Chat.

Chat regarded her curiously, watching her struggle against his grip. After a few moments, he made a shooing gesture with his hand, and Tikki was sucked back into the miraculous. He released Marinette, who fell to her knees, defeated. She made to stand up, but Chat swept her legs out from under her, sending her sprawling on the ground, causing her head to hit the ground. She did not stir.

The group was utterly silent, staring at their heroes of Paris. Alya was in shock. This was not how the battles went. Ladybug always won. Always. Yet somehow, Chat had taken her apart in just a few moments. The fight was over.

Alya had never truly thought about the consequences of the heroes losing. What would Hawkmoth do with the miraculous when he had them? She made to ask Chat, but stopped when she noticed something odd.

Chat was staring at Marinette with an almost pained expression. Then Alya spotted something that caught her attention. Chat's eyes flashed purple for an instant, and immediately after that instant, it was as though a switch had been flipped. The manic grin that had been present ten minutes prior returned, and he turned his attention onto the class.

"Nathanael." He said, singling out the redhead, who flinched. "You haven't said a single word since you entered the house." He strode forward, intending to grab the boy in question. The class tried to stop him, but he batted them all aside, leaving each one sprawled on the floor, all but his target. He grabbed the terrified boys shirt and dragged him in front of the class, who could only watch. "Speak." He commanded.

Nathanael tried. He truly did. But his throat closed up, and he found himself unable to.

Chat regarded the boy in front of him with a disappointed look on his face. "Well if you won't talk, I guess we'll just have to make you sing." And with that he grabbed Nathanael's left arm and broke it.

"AAAAAAH!" Nathanael screamed, clutching his arm. Chat grinned, grabbed the red head by his hair, and dragged him out of the room.

"Much better." Chat acknowledged. "But I think we can do better. Don't you?" His laughter echoed through the room long after the two left.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Well. That happened.**_


End file.
